4.09.2013

Empties: March 2013

I seem to be going through products quite quickly these days. Not that I'm using excessive amounts, but after I decided to really try and focus on finishing products, the half-empty ones especially and sticking to one in every category at a time, I've been reducing the amount of products I have to the point of noticing my drawers getting much neater and more easily organised. I'm also starting to reach the point where I am throwing out things I just don't want anymore, which I find quite the relief.

Yes to Tomatoes Purifying Shower Gel for combination skin 500ml
First out is some shower stuff and this mega-sized bottle of shower gel. I think I've written about this before as it's been an auto-re buy for quite some time. I don't have a big problem with "bacne" but I can get the odd little red bump or two on my chest and back. Using this sorts me out almost completely, all the time. I apply it all over my chest, back and arms and let it "sit" and do it's thing while I apply a more moisturising shower cream to the rest of my body, and then rinse. I haven't re-purchased this time as my skin's been quite dry through winter and I've been wanting to get through some of my shower gel back-ups, but I think I will order it again soon now that it's already getting warmer.

Soap & Glory Scrub Actually 200ml
I'm slowly making my way through all the body products Soap & Glory have on offer. After being very impressed with their Scrub of Your Life I purchased this one just to try something different. They are both nice products, but I definitely prefer Scrub of Your Life. Scrub Actually has a sweeter scent in my opinion and it doesn't go quite as far. It's still a very decent scrub, I just prefer the other one.

Garnier Intensive 7 Days Body Lotion for normal skin 250ml - click here for review -
Another one of these. I have another one on the go, and probably always will. I use this on my upper body as heavier lotions can give me those red spots I talked about with regards to the Yes to Tomatoes shower gel. Do note I use the one for normal skin, the other ones are still too heavy. This stuff still keeps skin very soft and comfortable and I absolutely love the smell. One of my favourite products.

Moroccan Oil 200ml
Finally! This was my first hair oil I ever used and it really wowed me. I since bought the Kerastase Elixir Ultime, before going back to this one. This 200ml is a "professional size" and took me absolutely ages to go through. After a while I noticed it started leaving my hair quite dull and I didn't feel it did much of anything for me hair anymore. I ordered a sample of the Macadamia Oil and absolutely loved it. I decided still to finish this big bottle, and it was hard as it really wasn't impressing me anymore. Still, I finished it and it was fine, but it's not something I see myself buying again. It's a bit too heavy for my tastes, especially as my hair is less damaged now. I think this was great when it came out, but since then other hair oils that came out since are better, at least for my hair.

KLORANE Dry Shampoo with Nettle 150ml
This was my absolute favourite dry shampoo, except for the white cast it left. I was quite sad when it finished as it's not really available to buy anywhere here in Norway. However, I decided to try the Batiste Dry Shampoo for Medium & Brunettes and that is even better than this, plus no white cast! Still, I do recommend this, especially if you have lighter toned hair. However, I will be sticking to my batiste one!

Soap & Glory The Fab Pore Hot Cloth Cleanser 100ml - click here for review -
I did quite a recent review of this so I won't go into too much detail as my feelings are still the same. I absolutely love this, unfortunately I did end up loving the expensive Emma Hardie Cleansing Balm more. However, if you want a new cleanser, but one that isn't too expensive, this is a really good option!

The Body Shop Hemp Hand Protector 30ml
I got a little kit of 4 of these handbag size handcreams for christmas. This hemp one is nice as it is really moisturising, but it's really heavy and takes a while to absorb properly so I've been using it night time mainly. It's nice, but I don't love the smell and I prefer others so I won't be re-purchasing this.

Urban Decay De-Slick Oil-Control Makeup Setting Spray 118ml
This product changed my life. I bought the All Nighter spray before this one and that one is good, but not as good as this one. Especially if you have skin leaning on the oilier side, or just the t-zone - this will be your knight in shining armour! I'm enjoying using the All Nighter now as I want to get some use out of it and my skin has been drier cause of the weather, but I have already re-purchased another one of this in the new packaging and expect I will be buying it again and again.

LipFusion XL 8.22 g
This is one of those holy grail products I would freak out if ever got discontinued. This tube has taken me about a year to go through with almost everyday use. Even though it's a bit expensive, it will last you a really long time. I apply this at night right before bed and it not only makes my lips visibly fuller, but also healthier. When I'm travelling I don't always take this with me and I notice the difference straight away. My lips are much drier and even the best lip balms can't compare to this. It also makes my lips fuller at a very slow rate, but still, it works! Highly recommended!

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair 7ml - click here for review -
I won't go too much into this again as it's in these every single month. I'll just say that I absolutely adore this and had enough of the samples this month and purchased the 50ml again.

Estee Lauder Idealist Pore Minimizing Serum 7ml x 2
Another two of these. I haven't made up my mind about this serum yet, which I should have considering how many of them I've gone through. I'm trying to use a different serum now to see if I notice a big difference. I am considering buying a 50ml of this when I go to New York in the summer.

Caudalie Vinosource S.O.S Thirst Quenching Serum 30ml - click here for review -
I was originally going to wait a bit after this ran out, not knowing if I'd need it when the weather got warmer. I couldn't do it though and ordered it a few days until it was completely gone. As you will see from the next few reviews - so happy I did! I have the new one now and will just stick to this one from now on.

Guerlain Super Aqua-Serum 3ml
When the above Caudalie serum ran out I figured it was the perfect opportunity to test some other, similar hydration based serums I had lying around. This one by Guerlain was first one out. I've used it a bit here and there before, and still I'm not very impressed with it. It's nice enough, but when compared to the Caudalie it doesn't even come close to bringing the same kind of moisture and comfort to the skin.

Kanebo Sensai Cellular Performance Hydrachange Essence 3.5ml
This took me a bit longer to get through than the others, 6-7 days I think so about a week. I wanted to commit to finishing it up to really know for future reference if this was something I should ever have a look into. It broke me out, didn't give enough hydration and was just all-round a big miss for me. Will definitely not be giving this another look.

Chanel Hydra Beauty Serum 5ml
This was the last serum I bothered using as I received my new Caudalie a few days after starting this one and just wanted to go back to using something I love. Obviously from reading that, the Chanel didn't wow me. I'd say it was the better one out of the three I tried, and the few things I've tried here and there of Chanel skincare I definitely feel their stuff is a bit underrated. That being said, I'll still absolutely take the Caudalie Vinosource S.O.S Thirst Quenching Serum over this one though, so I'll be giving this one a miss as well.

Dior Gentle Toning Lotion 15ml
This is a very nice and gentle, alcohol free toner. It's very soothing and comfortable on the skin, doesn't leave skin feeling stripped or dry. Definitely a toner I'd be interested in when I've used up what I have now.

Dior Capture Totale Eyes Essential
This tube doesn't say how much is in it, which means it's probably very little! A bit of this goes a long way though, so that does come out on the positive side for this. Other than that I really do like this actually. It's a serum ment for the eye area that is supposed to help whatever eye cream you layer on top of it work better. Compared to the Advanced Night Repair Eye one I am using the full size of at the moment, I do prefer this and I might buy this one when the Estee Lauder one runs out. I really do notice a difference when using this - eye area is much brighter!

Dior Hydra Life Pro-Youth Sorbet Creme
This also doesn't say how much is inside, maybe Dior just don't do that on their little cream and serum samples then? I've been quite impressed with this cream. I've used samples of this a lot when travelling and it makes my skin feel nice and comfortable, doesn't break me out. Something I could be interested in when I need a day cream next - definitely.

Clarins Pure Melt Cleansing Gel 5ml
I used this when traveling as well, all of these I used when traveling. But I continued using them up when I got home as I don't want half empty samples lying around, and I do want to test them out. This cleanser is quite nice, I really like it. It's definitely more travel friendly than my current obsession - the Emma Hardie Cleansing Balm. Still, I prefer that one, but this one could be ok around for travelling purposes if I ever narrow it down to just the Emma Hardie Balm, and one other cleanser.

Clarins Daily Energizer Cream-Gel 5ml
I am currently using the full size pot of this and I really really like it! I am noticing my skin being more even and radiant - it gives good moisture, but not too much. Skin is plump, but not oily and feels just as good in the morning as in the evening. A great, great daycream.

La Roche-Posay Rosaliac UV Legere 40ml - click here for review -
I was originally quite "scared" when this one was close to being finished and really wanted to just buy another one and forget about the other stuff I had waiting in storage. I didn't and ended up loving my current daycream - the Clarins Daily Energizer so everything's fine after all and I saved some money. Still though, this is a great moisturiser that I definitely see myself buying again sometime in the future.

Dr. Andrew Weil for Origins Night Health Bedtime Face Cream 50ml
I really need to write a review of this. It's really expensive for not even being an anti-ageing product, but I don't care - it's my favourite night cream I've ever used and I'm sticking to it! I've managed to narrow my night creams down to one - a new pot of the Night Health and I am so happy with it. It calms skin down, is so soothing and comfortable, gives lots of good moisture without ever clogging the skin. "Holy Grail" for sure!

Lancome Hydra Zen Neurocalm SPF15 15ml - click here for review -
I don't want to experiment too much with skincare on my face any longer and I think just that fact has helped a lot towards my skin being much happier these days. I still want to use the nice deluxe samples I have though, so I've resultet to using them down my neck and sometimes décolleté That's what I did with this for the day. Not much to say, love the Hydra Zen creams - I used them for years and I still love them. I've found other creams I prefer now, but I still highly recommend them.

Clarins HydraQuench Cream 15ml x 2
Same as with the cream above, I used this down my neck and décolleté but these during the night. I can't really tell much of a difference in these areas as my skin here is always pretty clear and comfortable, but I will say my décolleté looked quite nice so I suspect it's a real good cream for drier skins.

Clarins Body Shaping Cream 8ml x 10

I decided to give this cream a go this month after getting back into swimming! These fit nicely into my gym bag. The cream itself is absolutely lovely! The consistency is incredibly smooth and soft and a little of this goes a really long way. It leaves skin silky smooth and perfectly moisturised. I'm not so sure in terms of the shaping part, but I think you'd need to use it for a bit longer than I've done. Very interested in maybe trying the full pot of this.

Clarins High Definition Body Lift 8ml x 5

Another body shaping type cream. This one had a gel consistency with some small particles inside that disappear as you rub it into your skin. I didn't use too much of this obviously, but I did feel like it definitely did something. It was minty and had a cooling consistency. I think this might work a bit if you use a whole bottle, but not sure. It's definitely draining.

Clarins Water Comfort One-Step Cleanser 10ml

Love this to remove makeup! It has a refreshing citrus smell that makes skin nice and radiant. It removes makeup well, but leaves skin soft and not dry and tight.

Clarins Instant Eye Make-up Remover 10ml

With all the hype this has been getting lately I couldn't wait to try it. It's absolutely fine, but no different to all the other ones like this.

Guerlain Secret De Pureté Biphase Eye & Lip Make-up Remover 15ml

This is nice and effecient, but leaves too much of an oily residue for my liking. If I get too much on the cotton pad the oil can get in my eyes and I end up with a blurry vision.

Lancome Hypnose Star Mascara in black

I did not like this mascara. Strangely, it was way too dry when I first opened it, but I found it to get less and less dry as time went on. This could be due to the cold winter climate and it being stored too close to the window. Either way, dry or less dry it was a very unimpressive mascara. It didn't do much, but still wasn't at all natural. I will not be trying this again.

Yves Saint Laurent Faux Cils Mascara in black

One of my all-time favourite mascaras! Always sad when one of these finishes. I absolutely love this and have re-purchased time and time again. The Faux Cils gives decent length and volume, but without the clumping. You end up with these amazing fluttery feathery lashes - love it!

If you've read my review on this you already know I love this! This does give a decent amount of volume, but it's seriously impressive when it comes to length! Absolutely amazing!

Clinique Airbrush Concealer

This is a really nice concealer pen. It doesn't highlight too much so it gives really natural results. It also doesn't cover much, but normal for a concealer pen. I recommend this especially for people that don't wear much other makeup, or if your going for a really natural look.

These liners are similar to the one mentioned above, but the tip is a tad less precise. Also, when on the eye you can't really see they are meant to be green and purple. Quite a disappointing product that I won't be buying again as I'd rather just have one liquid liner in black if they're all gonna look the same anyway.

Dior Addict Eau Sensuelle

Finally a few perfume samples. It seems Dior don't want to tell you the amount you get in these either. The Addict Eau Sensuelle perfume was nice. It's a sexier scent, but it didn't wow me so I won't be buying.

Dior Miss Dior Le Parfum

This is one of my all-time favourite perfumes! It has a perfect mixture of sweet and spicy and is a more grown up way to wear a sweet scent.

Dior J'Adore Eau De Toilette

I adore the J'Adore perfumes (pun intended!) and I have the big bottle of the perfume in my little (read: filled to the brims) perfume drawer. I'm sure all of you will be quite familiar with this smell already, but if your not I recommend giving it a sniff the next time your at a Dior counter!

Valentino Valentina Eau De Parfum 1,5ml

I quite like this scent, but it didn't wow me. It's a nice floral perfume that isn't too noticeable and definitely perfect for wearing to work and school.

10 comments

Great post :) So many lovely products! I would like to try the S&G hot cloth cleanser, I get on really well with their products and I can imagine this being really nice :) Shame the Lancome mascara didn't work for you, with packaging like that I would expect it to be amazing haha! xx

He he yeah the glitter on the Lancome mascara really made me want to like it! If your interested in the S&G cleanser you should check out my full review - it's really good though, if you like the S&G products this is one of my favourites so far so I'm sure you'll like it! :) xx

He he me too actually! I've had a good few half empty products lying around that I've made a point of finishing up though, so now that those are coming to an end I suspect these posts will be a little shorter.. Wouldn't take me 3 hours to finish writing then so would be good he he!! xx